(c)

THE KEY

A Short Story by David
DeLane Snow

“No. Go watch Barney or SpongeBob on
Netflix, honey. Mommy is still cleaning,” The young mother instructed her five
year old daughter, Hope back into the living room. Candice Landmark had cleaned
the girl’s room up two days before, and after having collected two large trash
bags was surprised there was yet more to find.The people at Good Will knew her on a first name bases after such
cleaning sprees as these, she smiled to herself.

“Mom I’m hungry.”Faith said at the doorway.The seven year old sister’s message had been
lost on her younger sibling.Candice
realized her older daughter had come to do her own job this time around as she
sighed an, “Alright.”Tossing a one
armed teddy bear onto the bed, wondering how it had been overlooked, Candice
paraded the starving children to the dining table for milk and peanut butter
sandwiches.

After
cleaning up from the meal she redirected the girls to the living room to either
do their own cleaning of misplaced toys or settle down to watch another round
of shows as she finished up her own chores.The angles decided on cartoons instead of labor.

Picking up where she had left off, Candice
resumed her cleaning spree by placing the arm-missing bear in the trash, and
dove back into the closet.Seemed a
Mom’s job was never done.She could not
phantom how the room could be in such disarray in just a few days.Humming a church tune in her head she
continued vacating the small room of every item in favor of a closer inspection
and inventory; before reassigning them new shelf space and hangers.The venture always found the recovery of some
lost item.This time was no different.

Just as she was about to return a pair of her
youngest daughter’s Velcroed worn-tennis shoes beneath a lower cubby holed
shelf in the closet, Candice felt the rattle within.“Oh my word what did Hope hide this time”,
the young mom whispered aloud to herself? What she found and what it lead to
she never saw coming.

Last time Candice had done a total house
cleaning she had come across her husband’s stashed collection of cigarette butts.
For some unknown reason Wayne kept all his “last cigarette butts” to
commemorate his attempts at quitting.Then there was her youngest daughter’s collection of cat-hair balls kept
in a sock! Candice was almost afraid to find out what the child had this time.

Timidly her slender fingers slid into the
child’s shoe.Upon retrieving an old
fashion key Candice found herself starring at it for the longest time trying to
place where in the world it could have come from. Her perplexed thoughts
instantly evaporated when the shocked answer came from the five year old
herself.

“Okay baby.” A mixture of emotions waved
over Candice as she realized the key belonged to the jewelry boxed from her own
bedroom closet.A year before, her
grandmother had passed away; the box and key were gifted to her from her
mom.Candice had only briefly glanced inside
the box the day after the funeral.Noticing
the bobbles and costume trinkets of her beloved grandmother Lois Sakmir, the
granddaughter locked it up without a second look.With the girl’s bedroom complete she thought
maybe it was time to rediscover the heirlooms and see what childhood memories
she could recall.

Going to her own walk-in closet to explore,
her mind began to rehearse the day she last touched the jewelry box.Setting her older dresses aside for the
second hand store, Candice then made her way deeper into the closet as her two
daughters came in behind her.Atop a
clear storage container sat the polished jewelry box.The scene of a traditionally dressed Japanese
woman carrying a parasol, strolling past a Bonsai tree adorned the lid’s worn
surface. Retrieving the small treasure chest all three girls made their way out
again, then sat on the King size bed.

“It’s Nana’s box, right Mommy?” Hope sounded
a little possessive.

“Well, it’s Mommy’s box now baby.Just like Marshall used to be Nana’s puppy,
he’s ours now.” Candice informed her youngest daughter, who claimed their
Scotty Terrier as her own.

Using the key again she opened the lid of
the mahogany box revealing two smaller tasseled-lids rising up and exposing
treasures galore.The girls marveled
with Woos and Awes!One by one Candice
pulled out each item and explained in great detail the back-stories of her
legacy hoard.

“Of course he did Sweetie.Grand-paw just had a very hard life, honey.”
Candice tried not looking sad over the comment as she pulled a freshwater pearl
necklace from the wooden chest.“Can I
wear it Mommy?” Faith begged.

“Sure you can.” Putting the heirloom
delicately about the child’s neck; both beamed ear to ear.Moments later Hope was trotting about in
over-sized shoes announcing, “I’m a Princess too, Sissy.”

About that time her husband entered the
bedroom carrying a baby in his arms announcing, “Candice, Destiny is changed
and Marshall did his business in the back yard. I’m heading out for a smoke.”After being placed in her carrier, her
sister’s attention went back to playing dress up.As the dog jumped up onto the clothes laden
bed the jewelry box tumbled with a crash.

“Oh no! Marshall! Go on, get out of here.”
Candice yelled causing the nearly sleeping infant to burst into tears.The box was upside down.Though still intact, its mirror had popped
out undamaged.The girls scrambled to
assist their mother with returning the scattered necklaces, hair pins and
broaches back into their rightful compartments.

Just as Candice was sitting back onto the
bed unfolding a one page letter, Wayne came rushing in the room holding the
terrier close in his arms, asking, “What’s all the commotion about Hon?”Faith was caressing the calming cheeks of her
baby sister as her mother explained to dad the events with the box.

Candice added, “Then after Marshall almost
broke it, this letter popped out from behind the mirror.”

“Really? What does it say?” Wayne inquired.
Seeing everything was alright and that reading would calm his wife down, he
tossed the silver hair dog back onto the bed.The terrier curled behind Candice apologetically and sat in silence as
she began enunciating aloud.

“Rachel
took me to the doctor’s appointment last week.I’ve been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.I’m so scared to death.I fought so hard in my life to be memorable,
and now I’m going to forget everything myself, so many cherished memories.
Where do you start dismantling your life? They’ve all made me who I am, who I
was.I love my grand babies so much, and
the joy they’ve become for Candice and Wayne.Charlene and Randel with their Ski Lodge business is just amazing. Diane
and Scott both become doctors – I’m so very proud of how things turned out for
all my children.

I was thrilled that Buddy and I were able to
make such a wonderful life together. I
was so devastated when the Chaplain came to the house and told me Buddy had been
killed in Vietnam.My world collapsed
and everything changed.

I had three little girls relying on me and I
felt all alone.Had it not been for
Marshal Evans I never would have been able to keep my sanity.Marshal was more than just a deacon in the
church he was a great friend and after a while we became more than that. After
a few months we became lovers and life was great again until the day he asked
me to marry him.It was eighteen months
later to the very day the Army officials informed me that Buddy had not been
killed but had been a POW instead.He
was released and coming home.It was an
amazing roller coaster ride.

Buddy and I continued as before.He was changed by the war and we fell apart
because of it.Yet for the girls we
stayed together even with his heavy drinking.Marshall was there and he always comforted me and knew the right things
to say and do.Buddy either never knew
or cared that Marshall and I were close; he seemed so distant – off fighting
his own Vietnam demons. Buddy never let anyone get close and he always shut
others out who tried.

Me? Now it seems even my secret life is to
be ripped away and forgotten.”

As she finished reading the letter,
Candice’s mouth dropped.Her wide eyes
locked onto those of her husband’s own.Wayne blurted out, “Wow!Least we
know now where your grandmother got the name for all her dogs.